Protecting From the Shadows
by winteriscoming7777
Summary: Naruto shows up to the Chunin Finals late, and is therefore disqualified. However, he finds out Sasuke is made an exception and is still in the tournament. Sick of the unfair treatment and blatant favoritism Naruto leaves the hellhole known as Konoha. See what happens as makes his own path. Going to be a NaruXIno with possible lemons down the road.
1. Screwed Over

**AN: This is my first fanfic and I simply wanted to get a feel on how to set it up so the chapter is kind of short. Later chapters will be longer.**

Naruto was running late to the Chunin exam finals and cursing at himself for his carelessness. "_Shit, Sasuke and that Gaara better take a long time to finish their fight otherwise I'm fucked. I really don't want to get disqualified. Damn Gamabunta made me pass out the day before the finals and I was left to sleep-in in the middle of the forest."_

The blonde gennin was approaching the arena at top speed and didn't show signs of slowing down as he entered the building to be very surprised. As Naruto came to a stop on the arena floor he saw not sasuke and gaara fighting but Shikamaru and the Suna fan chick.

"Oi! Why the hell are you two fighting? Did Sasuke already win?" the Knuckleheaded ninja exclaimed. Seeing that Naruto was disrupting the match Genma immediately halted the exams in order to deal with Naruto, but Shikamaru beat the senbon chewing Jonin with an explanation. "Sasuke never showed, so Hokage-sama pushed his match back for him to make some troublesome grand entrance, so yours was moved up."

"Great! Im ready to kick that Hyuuga's ass!" said Naruto as he flashed his trademarked fox like grin.

"It's too late, you were disqualified." At those words Naruto's fox grin disappeared and was replaced with utter shock. He looked up to the Hokage's box to see a visually distressed Hokage. Seeing his gaze the Hokage stood up and addressed Naruto, "I'm sorry Naruto, what Shikamaru said was true, you have been disqualified."

"Then why the hell was Sasuke-teme's match only pushed back? What the hell?! Never mind, don't answer that question. I'm sick of the Uchiha getting favors and handed everything on a silver platter while I am left with the scraps." Turning to the crowd Naruto then let his frustration out on them, "Listen up, all of you!" Naruto's commanding voice and clear rage caused complete silence. "Each and every single one of you make me sick! For too long I have taken your shit and abuse, for too long have I been alone only to be beaten and spit on for something I had no control over!"

Utterly confused Shikamaru asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm glad you asked you lazy bum, let me explain." But before he could the Hokage interjected, "Naruto, Stop! You know the law! Stop this foolishness before you regret it, its for your own good, please I don't want to see you hurt anym…"

"Shut-up old-man. You have already done enough today. As for the law I can tell however the fuck I please, it is my right! Plus it never worked, I have and always will be treated like shit!" Naruto then turned back to the crowd. "I have been treated like this because thirteen years ago on the night I was born the Yondaime was forced to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune within me!" All of the younger generation looked on in shock, some turned to their Jonin instructors who simply nodded in confirmation, but before they could do anything else Naruto continued his rant, "My whole life I had to look over my shoulder for my next beating, scrounge in the trash for items people threw away, and was constantly thrown out of stores. You all thought that you were harming the Kyuubi but instead…" the blonde paused as tears started to roll down his face, "instead you neglected and abused a helpless child! As far as I am concerned you all can go to hell!"

After getting all of that off his chest Naruto did not hesitate to turn around and exit the arena. Silence hung in the air for minutes after Naruto left, Sakura had her mouth hung open and faced her friend Ino who seemed to have tears about to fall. The Hokage turned to a tree outside the arena where he knew Jiraiya was watching and simply gave a slight nod, he then returned to his seat where a single tear fell as the old man thought, "_I am sorry Minato, Kushina, Naruto. I have failed you all."_


	2. A Hasty Escape

**AN: This is the second half of the first chapter, hopefully in the future the chapters will be at least a combination between the two, if not more. Hope you enjoy**

Naruto walked at a quick pace as he made his way to his cramped apartment. Once there the blonde quickly started to grab everything he needed for a very long trip: camping gear, some ramen, weapons, some more ramen, all his clothes, and even more ramen. Once Naruto was done packing the seriousness of what he was about to do finally dawned on him, he was going to become a missing nin.

He then thought back to his mission in Wave Country and everything Kakashi told him about what happened to ninja that abandon their home village. Not wanting to be killed Naruto tried to focus on the situation he was in, "_This is going to have to be a simple matter of diverting the hunter-nins focus, going to a place they least suspect, and staying on the move. Ha! This is going to be easy, just like one of my pranks." _

The next problem that arose for Naruto was to actually divert his future hunters in order for him to make his escape. Naruto then though back to the only missing-nin he knew to see if he could pick up any pointers, and then it hit him! Wave Country was the perfect "escape route". The blonde had connections there with Tazuna so it would not be hard to convince the others that Wave was were he was heading. "_Afterwards all that it would take is to a boat from the harbor to…to…Mist!_ _Those damn hunter nins cant track me over the ocean and if no-one knows I took a boat to Mist I'll be able to move freely around the world!"_

Naruto then went to work on setting up his plan, and grabbed a map of Wave and made it look as if he dropped it in his "hasty and unplanned escape." Content with his plan the genin looked around his apartment for the last time and his eyes fell on a picture sitting by his bedside. Taking a hold of it, Naruto stared at the picture of Team 7 and the memories he had with them. He was so caught up feeling different emotions like longing, friendship, contempt and jealousy that Naruto did not even realize he was staring at it for almost ten minutes until there was a knock heard on the door.

"Hey gaki, open up." The voice was unmistakable, it was Ero-sennin. Naruto was grumbling incoherent curses under his breath as he reluctantly opened the door, "What the hell do you want Ero-sennin? I am not in the mood for your perverted antics and I am extremely busy at the moment." Jiraiya took a look in the apartment and caught a glimpse of the traveling pack in the corner of the room and sighed knowing exactly what Naruto was planning to do. "We need to talk."

The blonde did not like where this was going but didn't see any way around the situation so he let the Toad Sage in and tried to act somewhat normal. But before he could try to act like he was only pissed Jiraiya cut him off, "I know what you are planning to do, and before I go into extensive detail on how stupid it is I'll tell you right off the bat that I'm not going to let it happen."

Naruto was glaring daggers at the sage and seeing how he was caught red handed the blonde didn't even bother hiding the fact anymore. "And why should I listen to you?! Even the old man turned his back on me! And if he did it is only a matter of time before everyone else does! Hell my own team doesn't give two shits about me! Sakura thinks I am annoying and that I only gets in her way while she throws herself at Sasuke. Sasuke is an arrogant asshole that has everything handed on a silver platter and treats people like shit. And Kakashi "sensei" has Sasuke's dick so far up his ass he doesn't even acknowledge me or Sakura! The only the thing he has ever taught me was how to climb a fucking tree!"

Naruto was taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself and Jiraiya simply stood there passively staring at him. "The Yondaime never wanted your life to be like this, he wanted you to live a happy life and protect the village he loved. Trust me, I know this because he was my student." Naruto was shocked that someone would care for him and wished for his happiness. However, that changed as he countered, "Big deal, a dead guy wants me to be happy. Well I am not happy at all, in fact I am miserable every single day. I never claimed the Yondaime was a bad guy, but I'll tell you this he sure as hell was not a genius like everybody claims. A genius wouldn't be so naïve to believe I would be happy in this life."

Jiraiya's heart broke a little, but before he could respond a rumble shook the building and screams were heard throughout the village. Seeing his chance Naruto quickly formed a handsign and yelled, "Sexy no Jutsu!" One puff of smoke later and a naked blonde women with smoke encircling her most precious of places stood while sexily biting on her index finger, "Oh Jiraiya-sama, what can I do for you?" she cooed.

Seeing this Jiraiya rocketed back as blooded shot out his nose, sending his head through the dry wall and knocking him out. Seizing his opportunity Naruto grabbed his pack and shot out the door not even bothering to lock up.

Once outside Naruto took in his surroundings, and what he saw simply shocked him. In the distance by the walls large snakes tearing through the village and smoke rising from the arena. "Perfect, that should be a great distraction!" Naruto grinned to himself as headed off towards the village gate. He soon realized that he was running through a warzone as Leaf, Sound, and Sand bodies were strewn across the streets and on top of buildings. Putting his training to good use Naruto ducked, weaved and dodged stray kunais and redirected justus. As he jumped through a giant hole in the wall Naruto thought that he had made it out without being noticed.

Unfortunately that wasn't true as a Sound shinobi was aiming to throw a kunai at the genin's back, but was stopped before he could release. The unnamed shinobi turned to see his Jonin squad leader holding his arm while saying, "Do you not remember the last minute order by Kabuto-san? We are not to harm a blonde hair kid that wears nothing but orange. Apparently there is potential in the boy and Orochimaru may have an interest in him." With that they turned to resume their invasion.


	3. Goodbye

**_In the Arena_**

Sakura looked up to see Kakashi standing over her with a kunai in the neck of a Sand ninja. "Sakura, Sasuke has gone to chase after Gaara. I want you wake Shikamaru and…._who should I send?..._and Neji. Neji missed his match and I am sure he is itching for a good fight. Take those two and bring Sasuke back. This is an A ranked mission, you are not to engage Gaara or anyone else if it can be helped. Take Pakkun here with you as well."

A puff of smoke appeared before Kakashi and both Pakkun and Sakura crawled their way over to Shikamaru and Neji. After she briefed the others on their mission they all jumped out a whole in the wall that Maito Gai made with a Sound ninja.

**_Forest Outside of Konoha_**

Naruto was jumping through the trees as the sounds of war disappeared in the background. Inside his head he was mentally cursing all of those people of Konoha who had done him wrong, and that was a very long list. Naruto's teammates despised him, the other rookies despised him, in fact only a select few were ever genuinely kind to him. There was Iruka-sensei, Ayame, old man Teuchi, Ero-sennin, and the old man Hokage. But that last person was so confusing right now. Why would he disqualify Naruto and simply delay Sasuke's match? The old man was never one for favoritism.

Thinking on the betrayal was causing Naruto to feel pain in his chest as he wiped away a lone tear. "It doesn't matter any more, I'll never see anyone from Konoha ever again. I'll start a new life where no one knows of the damn fox. Maybe I'll become a traveling ninja out for hire or even join a new village!" Naruto exclaimed picking up his mood.

Now Naruto was jumping through the forest with a smile on his face and thinking of which village he should join, "_Maybe after I get rid of my trail I can head North to Kumo, or West to Iwa. Ya Iwa sounds good, I mean who wouldn't love my blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. I bet people of Iwa would love me! Guess I wont be needing this." _Naruto reached up and undid his headband and simply dropped it on the forest floor and continued on his way.

All the way in Iwa the Tsuchikage was throwing spare three-pronged kunai from the last Great War at a picture of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. When suddenly he felt a wave of anger and used his famous Dust Release technique on the picture. _"Strange, I usually destroy the picture of the late Hokage at the end of the day. I wonder what came over me."_

As Naruto was traveling he heard a great roar. Followed by what sounded like birds chirping. He was going to ignore it until he heard the familiar voice of Gaara yelling, "What's the matter Sasuke Uchiha! Are you scared of my true form? Or have you come to realize that my hate is simply stronger than yours?!"

"_Well that cant be good, maybe I should make a detour and check it out. Plus I might be able to see Sasuke get his ass kicked."_ That thought alone brightened Naruto's even more so as he had a fox like grin and skipped along the sounds of destruction and mayhem.

When Naruto reached the battlefield he made sure to remain hidden, but something surprised him. Sasuke was on the ground with what looked like black flame tattoos covering his face with Sakura standing over him as if she was guarding him. Twenty feet in front of her was Neji trying to catch his breath. Another twenty feet from Neji was a monster that looked strangely like Gaara, except half of his body was covered in sand making him look like a wild beast.

Naruto was drawn out of his observations when the creature suddenly yelled, "YOU ARE ALL WEAK! THE ONLY WAY TO BE STRONG IS TO FIGHT FOR YOURSELF, AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT IS TO BE TRULY ALONE. FORSAKE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES AND YOU MAY HAVE A CHANCE IN SURVIVING! HAHAH!"

With his speech given Gaara flung himself past Neji at incredible speed and headed straight towards Sakura and Sasuke. Without even thinking Naruto leapt from his hiding spot and kicked Gaara in head sending him flying towards a tree making a crunching sound.

Shocked by the new arrival Sakura quickly regained her senses, "Naruto! Thank y.."

"Don't thank me Sakura, I was merely repaying Sasuke for saving my life in Wave. When he wakes up tell him we are even." Sakura was on the verge of tears, Naruto's voice was so cold and she had noticed the lack of the honorific chan at the end of her name. "Neji, take Sasuke and get the hell out of here."

Neji did as he was told but before he left Sakura yelled, "I am not leaving you here to fight that thing. We are teammates and I won't abandon you."

Naruto's reply was a cross seal and "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A single clone appeared behind Sakura and chopped her in the neck, knocking her out. With that done Naruto turned to Neji, "Do you have a problem with leaving me behind?"

"No, our mission was to retrieve Sasuke and avoid a confrontation with Gaara. With you here we can succeed. Goodbye." Neji turned and left with Sasuke flung over his shoulder followed by Naruto's clone with Sakura.

It was at this time Gaara appeared again only he now was completely covered in sand and had a tale swinging wildly behind him. "Naruto Uzumaki. You are either very brave or very stupid to face me alone. Maybe it is a bit of both. It does not matter because I really want to fight a fellow jinchūriki." At that word Naruto showed squinted his eyes in confusion. Gaara quickly picked up on this. "Do you not know what you are called? We are simply weapons that our villages have created. But those fools cannot control us or the raw power we posses. I heard your little speech at the arena; you are the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Let us see who is stronger."

The blonde shinobi got into his fighting stance but with a look of understanding. "Tell me Uzumaki, what do you fight for? I would like to know before I crush you."

Naruto showed a puzzled look but could not answer. After a minute had passed he still had not answered Gaara's question. "HAHAHAHA. You don't even know. How can you possibly defeat me if you don't even know what you are fighting for? You are truly pathetic. I will teach you how to exist before you die. Fight for yourself and you will know true power, fight like that and your existence will be proven to the whole world."

"I'll tell you what I fight for, I fight for you and all those who have experienced loneliness like I have. I will end it and then you will see that your way of life only causes yourself pain! I will save you from yourself!"

After saying his piece Naruto flew through hand signs, bit his finger, and slammed his hand on the tree branch he was on. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." A puff of smoke appeared and a small orange toad appeared before Naruto. "Hiya, names Gamakichi. Got any sna..ahhhh! Whose the freak with the tail?" It was at this time that Gaara started flinging sand shuriken at Naruto. The blonde quickly grabbed Gamakichi and jumped out of the way.

"_Screw summoning, looks like I'll have to get my hands dirty."_ Jumping into the air summoned twenty clones and descended upon Gaara. Seeing this the red head took a deep breath as mouths with teeth opened throughout his body.

"Fūton: Mugen Sajin." Wind and sand shot through Naruto and clones, dispersing them and sending the real Naruto flying. Without waiting for the blonde to recover and counter Gaara shot several volleys of sand shuriken at him, all of them connecting and sending Naruto into a tree.

Naruto slowly got up and put an explosive tag on a kunai. "Prepare yourself for a move straight from Kakashi-sensei! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Four clones appeared alongside him and they charged forward. Gaara then caught three of the clones in one of claws allowing two to land on it. The last clone took the original and threw him above Gaara. Naruto then created another clone and used it as a spring to jump behind and below Gaara. After that he created one last clone to jump off of plunging his kunai into Gaara below the tail. "One Thousand Years of Death!" Gaara recovered as if nothing happened and used his tail to knock Naruto away. As the blonde genin was flying through the air one word escaped his lips in a whisper, "Boom."

Naruto slowly got up and put his hands into the ram seal to gather chakra. Once he had gathered his remaining chakra Naruto formed the cross seal, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Two-hundred clones were spread throughout the forest and then charged the sand jinchuriki. Gaara was simply shocked someone could create such a vast amount of clones and was soon overwhelmed by them.

Gaara was being beaten to a pulp until Naruto sent him crashing into the forest floor forming a small crater. "I will not loose to A WEAKLING LIKE YOU!" with a wave of anger Gaara fully transformed into Shukaku, the one tailed sand demon.

**_Back in the Arena_**

Neji dropped Sasuke on the ground while Naruto's clone laid her down gently. They had managed to make it back and were hiding in the arena contestant box. The cloned quickly turned to the Hyuuga, "I got a bone to pick with you! Who the hell do you think you are almost killing Hinata and treating people like shit? You have no right!"

"Don't preach to me about what I can and can't do. You have no idea what the main branch has put me through. She was merely to weak, she doesn't deserve to live amongst the Hyuuga, let alone the main branch of the family."

"You prick! She is stronger than you think, it took strength to keep fighting you even when she was getting the shit beat out of her. And she did it all to impress you! You tell me I don't know your life story, so then tell me. Tell me why you have a stick up your ass."

Neji stood there as if pondering something until he finally spoke, "The Hyuuga clan consists of two "families", the main family and the branch family. Only the eldest child may be apart of the main branch. My father was born to the clan head, but he was apart of a set of twins and had the unfortunate luck of being the younger sibling. The branch family lives to protect and serve the main household, so at the age of four a seal is placed upon branch family members that make them completely subservient. Not only that, but my father was unjustly killed so that my Uncle, the clan head, could live after he killed a Cloud ninja for a failed abduction. That is why I hate the main family. But it was all destined to happen, just like you were fated to suffer with your burden."

"Throughout that whole story I could not find one reason why you treat Hinata the way you do. If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at your Uncle or the Cloud ninja for whatever the hell he did. And don't give me that destiny crap! I am making a difference with my life, after I finish with Gaara I am leaving Konoha for good. No longer will I have to suffer but I will live my life without being judged. You on the other hand have people who care for you, hell the whole village praises you as a genius. So why don't you suck it up and be happy for a change."

During Naruto's lecturing of Neji a pink haired kunoichi began to drift back to consciousness. She was very groggy until she heard Naruto say he was going to leave the village. "What do you mean you plan on leaving?" Tears started to fill her eyes as Naruto slowly turned to her.

"I mean I can't take the treatment anymore. I…I…I just want to be treated like a normal person and be happy for a change." With this statement Sakura's tears started to fall freely, "Please don't go I am so sorry for how I treated you, if I would have known I would have been nicer I swear."

"It means a lot to me that you would say that, it really does. But there is no turning back now. I already knocked out Ero-sennin just to get out, there is no place left for me here. Please don't tell anyone, with this invasion it will be awhile before they notice I am gone." Sakura jumped up and hugged the clone while sniffling, "Goodbye Naruto, and please be safe."

"Goodbye, Sakura-chan."

With that the clone poofed out of existence.

**_Forest (after canon fight)_**

Gaara lay on the ground, his body ached all over. The only thing he could move was his head as he looked to his left. What he saw was Naruto slowly standing up, shaking as did up and slowly walking over to him. "I don't want to fight you. I am leaving Konoha were the villagers constanly disrespect me. Come with me and together we can become friends and look out for each other. I see the loneliness in your eyes and the pain you have experienced."

The sand genin was contemplating the offer when two other people jumped down. Kankuro had crow out and chattering while staring Naruto down, while Temari was looking at Gaara with obvious concern. Seeing this Naruto chuckled softly, "On second thought Gaara I resend my offer. You obviously have those who care about you even if you don't know it. Hopefully in the future we meet again, except as friends instead of enemies. Hell I might even come visit in Suna. Take care." And with that he turned and stumbled away, exhausted from the fight he just had.

Once he was gone Temari turned to her youngest brother and had him lean on her for support, "Gaara are you alright? What the hell was he talking about?" Gaara heard the worry in her voice and the love in her eyes, "_Maybe Naruto Uzumaki was right."_ "I am fine, no, better than fine. Kankuro…Temari…Thank you, and I am sorry."

The two older sand siblings exchanged "What the fuck just happened?" glances and Kankuro answered, "No problem Gaara, lets get you home."

**Sound Rendezvous Point in Forest**

"Damn that Sarutobi, victory over the Leaf Village would have been guaranteed if he hadn't taken my arms with that cursed jutsu." Orochimaru was beyond furious. His loyal followers of the Sound Four were scared shitless that he would take his anger out on them.

"Maybe all was not lost Orochimaru-sama," a cool and calmed voice entered the clearing, "now I may have jumped the gun a bit but I made a last minute order to not harm Naruto Uzumaki after that outburst." Orochimaru turned to Kabuto with a quirked eyebrow. Taking it as his cue to continue, "It would appear that he was spotted exiting the village with a traveling pack. I believe he used the invasion as a cover to become a missing nin."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up at this new information as he licked his lips, "Kukukuku. The Sound Four will return to base number two and await my arrival. Meanwhile, Kabuto and I must meat a potential…comrade. Oh this will be so delicious if he joins, Sarutobi-sensei will be turning over in his un-dug grave."

"Hai Orochimaru-sama." And with that the Sound Four headed off to Tea Country.

"Come Kabuto, lets go find Naruto-kun, and be on your best manners. We want to be welcoming."


	4. Interesting Offer

**_With Naruto 8 miles outside of Konoha_**

****Naruto was stumbling along through the forest, he has been on the verge of unconsciousness for the past two hours. His fight with Gaara had exhausted him and he was now behind schedule. He was supposed to be half way to Wave Country right now, but now he worried that someone from Konoha would notice his disappearance and track him down. Unfortunately for the blonde genin he was half right.

"Kukukuku. Look Kabuto, little Naruto-kun is all tired out. He appears to be standing on willpower alone." Naruto turned surprisingly fast for someone so tired. The genin had a new a new spark in his eye and the will to fight. Naruto was now facing a slightly hunched over Orochimaru with what appear black dead looking arms and a smirking Kabuto.

"There is no reason to worry Naruto-kun. In fact I've simply come to congratulate you on your fight with Gaara. To defeat a jinchuriki in his fully manifested form is an impressive feat for a squad of elite ANBU, and you did it all by yourself as a genin. There is such raw potential in you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, he wasn't used to getting compliments, but that quickly turned into his fox-like grin when he recognized Kabuto, "Thanks, I mean I hope I didn't hurt him too bad. Gaara has had a rough life and all he needed was a beating from someone who cared to help him out."

"That is very admirable of you, and I am sure he appreciates it. As for who I am, I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, formerly of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and now leader of the Village Hidden in the Sound. And the one beside me is…" but before he could finish Naruto cut him off. "That's Kabuto, he helped my team in the second round of the Chunin Exams. Hey Kabuto, why aren't you wearing your leaf headband?"

"I could be asking you the same question. It is quite simple really Naruto, I have served Orochimaru-sama this whole time as his spy this whole time. My main objective during the Chunin exams was to keep an eye out for your team and properly assess them."

"What? Why would you do that?" Needless to say the Naruto was thoroughly confused and had a million questions flying through his mind.

It was at this time Orochimaru picked up were he left off, "Simply put, I am very interested in you and Sasuke. I had to test both of you to see if you two were worthy of becoming apart of my village. I personally tested Sasuke in the Forest of Death while yours was to see how you preformed during the invasion, and you have far surpassed all my expectations." Kabuto glance to his side and looked at Orochimaru, "_Orochimaru-sama is lying through his teeth and yet it is so believable, our original goal was only Sasuke. Naruto is simply a consolation prize_. _His ability to manipulate people is truly frightening."_ Kabuto was quickly drawn out of his thoughts when Naruto started yelling.

"You were the snake pedophile lady in the Forest of Death?! What the fuck! Do you realize how fucked up my chakra control was after our fight? Not to mention one of your fucking snakes swallowed me whole!"

The snake sannin's eyes flashed with anger, but he quickly controlled himself and put on a reassuring smile. He hated when people called him a pedophile, Jiraiya used to tease him all the time when they were on the same team. However, Naruto saw the quick expression of pure loathing before Orochimaru was able to recover and that put him on edge.

"You see Naruto-kun, you and Sasuke are a set. Your rivalry with him pushes you to excel and achieve new heights, and the same goes for Sasuke. I am truly sorry for the misunderstanding with the snake, I simply had to test Sasuke on his own. Believe me, you never were truly in any danger with my pet. If you don't believe me about your relationship with Sasuke, Ill let you in on a little secret. If it wasn't for you Sasuke would have failed his test and most likely would have ended up dead, but after he witnessed your performance he was became quite impressive. All I ask of you now is to join my followers and I, we are all outcasts like you. For example, I was chased out of Konoha simply for attempting to create better justus and soldiers in order to protect the village. Sasuke and you aren't understood either. People fear you for being different and more powerful than them. Sasuke is just as alone, his whole clan was murdered while their killer walks away and Konoha does nothing. I simply wish to help you both achieve your goals. Sasuke desires power to gain his revenge while you simply crave acceptance. With my help both of you will be able to achieve your dreams."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought, there were many things to think over. He just received a lot of information and didn't know all of the variables. "Kukukuku…Think carefully Naruto-kun. This is an offer of a life time and I only offer it once."

At that Naruto opened his eyes and looked Orochimaru straight into his snake eyes. "You seem to know many things Orochimaru-san, including what I desire. So tell me, what are your goals?"

"_How interesting, this boy has shown a level of maturity that is seen in experienced chunins, calmly assessing the situation." _"Such a good question. To be honest my goal consists of three parts. First is I wish to achieve immortality. This immortality will pave way to my second dream. With infinite life I will be able to master every single jutsu in the world. Finally, and my personal favorite, I want to completely obliterate the Leaf Village. Down to every last single man, woman, and child. With you at my side you will be able to exact your revenge on the village that turned your back on you."

"I see." Naruto's serious expression quickly turned into his ear splitting grin. "In that case I will have to decline your offer. Although so far you have read me like a book, I'm afraid you didn't read the last chapter. My goal is not revenge like the teme's. In fact I find your first goal unnatural, your second admirable, and your third absolutely repulsive. If I were to go on a killing rampage, on innocent children no less, I would be no better than the very village that turned its back on me." With that Naruto turned and continued walking towards Wave, but not before he turned his head and said, "Although the whole immortality thing is unnatural I wish you the best of luck and send me a postcard in the mail if you achieve it. I'll probably send you a congratulatory gift or something."

Before the genin took another step he saw white feathers slowly falling "_How interesting, that feather reminds me of my pillow back home…"_ and with that Naruto fell to the ground fast asleep from the genjutsu.

"It's a shame, would you like me to kill him Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked as he looked back and forth between the body on the floor and his master.

"I think not Kabuto. Even if he won't join us if he really is an Uzumaki the possibility to study an him is an opportunity I simply can not afford to give up. The Uzumaki's were renowned for their life force and longevity, and that is a step closer to immortality."

"I understand Orochimaru-sama, allow me to carry him. Your injuries are severe and you are hardly in a condition to travel."

With that said Kabuto made his way over to Naruto but right before his hand reached the genin a kunai landed in between the two. With a new threat immanent Kabuto jumped back to Orochimaru's side. At this time Jiraiya appeared beside Naruto and did a quick check of his vitals and stood upright to face his opponents.

"You'll pay for what you have done today Orochimaru. There are a lot of lives on you hands."

"Ah Jiraiya how nice of you to join us. Normally I would enjoy staying, chatting, and eventually killing you. But today I am too tired and not in the mood to so me and Kabuto will be going now. Have fun with the brat."

Not wanting his sensei's killer getting away Jiraiya flashed through some hand signs and shot a fireball at the pair. However, before it reached them the two sound nins phased into the ground below them.

After Jiraiya checked the surrounding area for any immediate threats Jiraiya focused his attention on the boy sleeping on the ground in front of him and smiled. "_Konoha truly doesn't deserve you. You have made your parents very proud this day Naruto."_

**_5 minutes ago with Jiraiya_**

Jiraiya was hot on Naruto's trail, just a half hour ago Konoha successfully repelled a joint invasion. After the Sand and Sound retreated he rushed to find the Hokage and notify him of Naruto's disappearance, but what he discovered made his blood boil. On top of the Hokage's box lay the body of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha surrounded by various jonin of the village. He said a quick prayer and took off to find Naruto.

Now he was jumping through the trees reading the signs around him. Not to long ago he saw a deforested area with sand scattered everywhere from what looked like a battlefield of epic proportions, but up ahead the white haired sannin heard voices. He quickly and expertly concealed his presence and slowly approached to get a better view. What Jiraiya found was shocking to say the least. There in front of him were Orochimaru, a man with glasses he did not know and Naruto. Both Orochimaru and Naruto looked like they had gone through hell while the mysterious third person seemed fatigued but otherwise unharmed.

"You were the snake pedophile lady in the Forest of Death?! What the fuck! Do you realize how fucked up my chakra control was after our fight? Not to mention one of your fucking snakes swallowed me whole!"

Jiraiya almost blew his cover by laughing. The gaki certainly called him like he sees them, the fact that the hermit used to called the snake that only made it more priceless.

Jiraiya continued to listen as Orochimaru attempted to distance Naruto from the village he once called home. The white haired man was sorely tempted to interrupt the meeting right then and there, he was afraid of Naruto's answer, afraid the boy would accept what he deserved, a chance to be accepted. Jiraiya knew it was a lie of course but Naruto didn't, he didn't understand how Orochimaru worked. Curiosity got the better of Jiraiya as he simply waited and listened, he wanted Naruto to make his own choice. Of course he wouldn't allow Naruto to leave with them, but he had faith Naruto would make the right choice and Jiraiya wanted Naruto to make it for himself.

"Kukukuku…Think carefully Naruto-kun. This is an offer of a life time and I only offer it once."

"You seem to know many things Orochimaru-san, including what I desire. So tell me, what are your goals?"

"_Shit, he is legitimately considering the offer. But the fact that he is thinking and evaluating is a vast improvement over his usual kick ass first ask questions later philosophy." _Jiraiya already knew Orochimaru's goals so he only was half listening. The other half of his brain was thinking about his next book and how he could reach a new market. Once Orochimaru's speech was done the toad sage was listening intently to Naruto's response.

"I see. In that case I will have to decline your offer. Although so far you have read me like a book, I'm afraid you didn't read the last chapter. My goal is not revenge like the teme's. In fact I find your first goal unnatural, your second admirable, and your third absolutely repulsive. If I were to go on a killing rampage, on innocent children no less, I would be no better than the very village that turned its back on me." Jiraiya didn't bother with listening to the rest, he had a smirk plastered firmly across his face.

The sage's victory was short lived however when Jiraiya saw Naruto fall for a genjutsu and collapsed to the ground. "_Well I guess that's my cue."_

**_Present_**

Now that Jiraiya and Naruto were all alone the sannin was deep in thought about what to do with the sleeping boy. "_Obviously, he needs his rest so I won't bother to wake him. But should I really bring him back to the village? As his godfather the responsibility falls to me to decide. As a shinobi it is my duty to bring him back, but he is not happy there. I must do what I feel is right I will take him and train him in solitude, what he does with that power will be up to him. Luckily I wont have to worry about him and revenge, the encounter with Orochimaru proves it. But where should I take the gaki?"_

As Jiraiya pondered his dilemma his answer poofed in front of him. After the small plum of smoke cleared a small blue messenger toad appeared with a small scroll on his back. "Jiraiya-sama, I have a message for you from Fukasaku-sama. News has reached his ears of your pupils victory over the one-tailed jinchuriki with Gamabunta-sama."

This news was shocking, but it explained the battlefield he passed up and why Naruto was so beat up. He was proud to say the least but he was interrupted from his thoughts as the toad continued.

"Fukasaku-sama has stated that when you deem him ready young Naruto will be allowed to train in the sage arts." Jiraiya nodded to show he understood and just as the toad was about to reverse summon himself an idea hit the toad sage.

"WAIT! Before you go can you take the kid with you to Mount Myoboku? He is not ready to train to be a sage yet, but he needs a better place to live than Konoha right now, just tell Ma and Pa to look after him for a while and let him rest."

The small toad seemed to be pondering over the request when he finally answered, "The boy has signed the toad contract so I do not foresee anything wrong with that request."

"Great, send a toad for me in about five hours when I am alone, no one outside of the toads must know about this."

"Understood." With a quick bow the toad hopped onto Naruto and poofed them both out of existence.

"_Well that's one problem taken care of…"_ Jiraiya turned to face Konoha, "_now the shitstorm."_


	5. Jiraiya's Pride

**_Naruto's Mindscape_**

Naruto slowly blinked his eyes open. As he pushed himself off the ground he took in his surroundings. The blonde was now standing in a foot of water flowing through a sewer. Along the walls ran pipes that led through different hallways. Naruto began walking on pure instinct, not really knowing where his path may lead him. What he stumbled upon was simply awe-inspiring. Naruto had entered what appeared to be wide open room that was complimented by its high ceiling. On the opposite side of Naruto stood a gate that divided the room in half; halfway up the gate was a tag with the kanji for seal.

Naruto recognized the room and groaned to himself, "_Damn fur ball, what the hell could he want with me now?" _Not one to censor what he says the jinchuriki made his presence known.

"Oi! Fluffy! Is there a reason you dragged me in here to talk to you?"

**"Insolent pest! Mind your mouth! Let me remind you who I am! I am the Kyuubi! The most powerful and fearsome of the bijuu! As for the reason I brought you here, I have a question for you."**

The bijuu was staring intently at the blonde, continuously calculating on how he should approach the situation. **"The Ichibi jinchuriki was at your mercy. Why did you not kill him when you had the chance? Why did you not assert my dominance over him like you should have?"**

Naruto stood there for a moment pondering his response, then he looked up showing his shit-eating grin, "Well technically I did assert your dominance when I kicked his ass! Didn't you see me stick that kunai and explosive tag up his ass? Hahaha that was hilarious!" The Kyuubi simply shuttered at the memory. "As for why I didn't kill him, well why should I? Gaara was never given any choice in his life and he was simply lost. How could I turn my back on someone who has had the same life as me, especially when I know his pain? That would be so hypocritical of me its disgusting."

The Kyuubi stared at Naruto not giving away to his emotions. A couple of minutes had passed and the Kyuubi was still staring at the boy in front of him. The blonde began to become uncomfortable and started whistling to himself to relieve the tension. Finally the Kyuubi spoke, **"You are an interesting person Uzumaki Naruto; there is no doubt about that. But you are still weak. When I escape from this prison you will be the first to die for your weakness."**

"Cool. Whatever you say, so if you're done can you let me out now?"

**"You are not in an ordinary slumber, you are under a genjutsu. And before you ask I will not help dispel it because you are too weak to dispel something so simple. You must wait until you wake naturally or someone releases you."**

"Oh, well if that's the case might as well keep entertained. Do you know how to play shogi?" Naruto created several clones and had them henge into a shogi board and its pieces. After about a half hour of explaining the rules, Naruto moved his first piece and looked up to the Kyuubi.

**"You aren't going to leave me alone until I play, are you?" **Naruto happily shook his head no and a sigh was heard escaping the Kyuubi's mouth **'****_How troublesome._****'**

**_In Konoha (Forest)_**

Nara Shikamaru and his father were checking on the deer in the forest to make sure none were hurt during the invasion when both father and son sneezed and thought '_Troublesome.'_

**_Konoha Council Chambers (1 hour later)_**

"First and foremost we MUST select a new Hokage. We need to maintain a strong front to our enemies and boost moral here." Mitokado Homura spoke trying to gain order in this council meeting. "Also, we must press Suna for surrender. We are in no condition to go to war, not without a Hokage to rally behind."

The council was full of murmurs as they pondered how to approach the situation. The chamber had a horseshoe like table in the center. Another table was set to connect the two ends. This table was reserved for the Hokage and his advisors, but the center seat was left open with only the Hokage's hat sitting there. Around the horseshoe sat the various clans of Konoha along with the ANBU commander and "former" head of root Danzo.

It was at this time that Shimura Danzo spoke up, "There is another disturbing matter that has come to my attention." At this everyone quieted down to listen, "It would appear that the Kyuubi jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, is no longer in the village." Utter silence filled the chamber. "Seeing as there has been no body found it is safe to assume that the jinchuriki has either run away or joined our enemies. Either way, he must be labeled a missing nin and brought back alive."

There were nods all around the room, to most of them Naruto had the potential to be a valuable shinobi and weapon when he matured. Granted, that didn't mean they liked Naruto, but the clan heads respected the raw power a jinchuriki possessed.

After letting his statement sink in Danzo continued, "After the recapture of the Kyuubi I suggest that he be given to me to train as I see fit. Under my tutelage he can become the weapon that we need to crush any and all enemies of Konoha." Again there were whispers of agreement among the council.

"That is quite enough Danzo." Jiraiya had been standing in the shadows listening to the conversation. For anyone else the council would have been outraged for the intrusion of a confidential meeting, but the Sandaime often let his pupil sit in on the meetings. "You all know full well that only a Hokage may declare a missing nin. As for Naruto's loyalties, I can assure you that he is no threat to this village. It is true he has left the village but not before he defeated Suna's jinchuriki."

Nara Shikaku spoke up, "I along with ninety percent of the village was under the impression that Uchiha Sasuke was the one to defeat the jinchuriki."

"That is incorrect Shikaku-san." Hyuuga Hiashi now had the attention of the council, "My nephew, Neji, along with a girl named Haruno were sent to retrieve Sasuke. They were forced to engage the Suna jinchuriki. He reported to me that he was the only one that was not unconscious, including the Uchiha, by the time Uzumaki arrived and covered their retreat. I find no reason to not to believe Jiraiya-sama's claims."

"Thank you Hyuuga-san. I also have found evidence that the gaki summoned Gamabunta himself to fight, if the forest and footprints are any indication. If you wish I could summon him and have him report."

The whole council nodded their heads, except for Danzo, he almost had the support to take the jinchuriki for his own. Now he would have to acquire him without the knowledge of the village, something that was exponentially more difficult. While Danzo pondered his next move, Jiraiya opened the window and flashed through some hand signs, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." A large plum of smoke appeared and the form of Gamabunta towered over everyone.

"What is the meaning of this Jiraiya? I have already been summoned by the gaki today, and I deserve a substantial time to rest for what he made me do."

"It is actually because of the boy that I have summoned you. Would you mind recounting to the council what happened earlier today?"

"Very well, I will also tell you what transpired before my arrival. My son Gamakichi was there and told me of Naruto's fight before Shukaku fully manifested." At this the whole council paled, to defeat fully manifested bijuu is an incredible feat, to do it by yourself is something only a kage can do. After he was sure he had everyone's attention, Gamabunta recounted the fight. When he mentioned Naruto's use of a kunai Jiraiya was on the floor laughing his ass off, if he ever made a second book on a Gutsy Ninja, that move was going to be in it. Gamabunta continued to tell how the Suna jinchuriki transformed and eventually gave power over to the bijuu, thus freeing the sand demon, how Naruto's quick thinking and battle prowess proved essential to wake the sleeping boy by henging into the Kyuubi.

After Gamabunta's story there was silence, utter silence. That seemed to be happening a lot at this council meeting. There had been monthly reports on Naruto's progress in the academy. What village wouldn't keep a close eye on their jinchuriki? This was not something they expected from the dead last, who technically didn't even pass.

"Thank you Gamabunta, that was all we needed to hear."

"No problem Jiraiya, that boy holds much promise. I haven't seen someone with that much potential since Minato was my summoner. Oh, and before I forget Ma and Pa would like to see you when you are free." With his job done the Toad Chief poofed out of existence.

Jiraiya then closed the window and turned to the council, "Any more questions?" At once the room exploded with questions, the most common one was questioning when the boy learned to summon toads, let alone Gamabunta.

"Since I gave him the Toad Contract, I thought that would be self explanatory. As for when he was able to summon Gamabunta, that would be the day before the Chunin Exam Finals. He had to pass an extremely trying test and barely past. He was unconscious and I believe that was the reason for him being late."

It was at this time Danzo spoke up again, "But why would you give him such a contract? He never showed himself to be worthy of much attention." Something was going on here that Danzo didn't like, and he was determined to find out what it was.

"It is for that reason that the gaki never showed his true colors. I wholeheartedly believe that he is the only one that can surpass the Yondaime; he possesses guts and determination to continually push himself to excel, and so he does. The reason for his previous failures is due to the bigotry of the citizens of this village. In order for any plant to bloom it must be watered and nurtured. Instead he was cast aside in fear of the 'monster' he could become. My information suggests that only one academy teacher remotely attempted help the boy, and the rest possibly sabotaged his learning. In the month I taught him he surpassed my expectations. In the few months since the academy graduation Kakashi only taught Naruto tree walking, but he wouldn't shut up about how his growth was astronomical. Within one day he went from freezing up against the demon brothers to helping to force Momochi Zabuza to retreat. His performance in the Chunin Exams is nothing to scoff at either; Ibiki said that Naruto is solely responsible for having at least four other teams pass the first exam by inspiring courage, all without answering a single question. In the second exam he went toe to toe with Orochimaru, granted the teme was playing with the boy, but examination of the battleground showed it was a hell of a fight. I don't think I need to remind you of the prelims, eh Tsume?"

Inuzuka Tsume blushed a little but was clearly annoyed, "Farting in my sons face does not count as something ingenious."

Again, Danzon spoke up, "You seem to have done your homework on the boy Jiraiya. Why would agree to train the boy? Surely you discovered his talents after you started training him, and if I am not mistaken you vowed never to take another student after the passing of the Yondaime."

At this the toad sage gave a perverted giggle, "Well if you must know, he showed me an original jutsu of his and I simply couldn't get enough." Blood began to trickle down his nose as he remembered Naruto's sexy jutsu.

"Jiraiya! I know of the boys 'sexy jutsu' but you and I both know that is not the reason. You and Hiruzen showed an uncanny interest in the boy and I demand to know what secrets you were both keeping!"

At this Jiraiya's face became hardened and he took a much more serious tone. "If you are accusing me of keeping secrets Danzo then that is fine, but you of all people should know that if there was a secret concerning Naruto then there is a reason behind it. If you are not aware of this supposed secret then it is clearly above your pay and rank. You would be wise to remember that."

Danzo was furious beyond belief. If he was to protect Konoha he needed to know all of its secrets in order to prioritize. Not only that but Jiraiya had the audacity to use the same line that Danzo used to stop Jiraiya snooping around the events of the Uchiha Massacre.

Satisfied with Danzo's reaction Jiraiya decided to reveal the last bit of info he would divulge to the council concerning Naruto. "As for Naruto becoming a threat to the village, I was able to witness Orochimaru offering to take Naruto back to the Sound Village. However, Naruto refused, enraging Orochimaru and forcing me to protect the boy. By the time Orochimaru retreated the boy was gone without a trace. My best tracker toads claimed he simply disappeared, I can give the coordinates to a Inuzuka tracking team but I doubt they will have any luck."

The room was quite, once again, until Homura spoke up, "Thank you Jiraiya for the information, as of right now we must close the case of Uzumaki Naruto. If he is to return I believe it is safe to say that this council would agree to have you to continue to train the boy. But for now we must focus on a ne Hokage. What about you Jiraiya? You are one of the Sannin and pupil of Hiruzen. The people would accept you with open arms."

"I decline, I have to many responsibilities: my spy network, being a Toad Sage, and my research. All of those cannot be done without me without properly training a replacement which would take years. But if you are dead set on a Sannin I know just the girl."

**_15 minutes later_**

****"Jiraiya, after you have settled your business with the toads you are to embark on your mission to find Senju Tsunade to return as the Godaime Hokage." Homura declared with an air of authority, "I now close this council meeting until the next time we convene."

With the meeting over people started to file out of the room. Jiraiya remained to look at the pictures of the Hokage adorning the wall, specifically the picture of his pupil the Yondaime Hokage. '_Minato, you would be proud of your son, but would you be proud of me?'_

Jiraiya's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. As he turned around Jiraiya was now face to face with Nara Shikaku in an empty room.

"What can I do for you Shikaku-san?"

"For me? Nothing. For the boy? Make sure you and the toads train him well. It would be a shame for the son of a Hokage to killed for being improperly trained."

"The Nara's famed intelligence can never be underrated. I will protect and watch after the boy with my life. And I assume you know never to divulge the information that you have no doubt discovered long ago?" Although it was a statement it was phrased a question and the Nara simply responded by giving a quick nod.

"Great! Cuz I would really hate to have to kill you! HAHAHAHa" Jiraiya was laughing his ass off as he walked out of the room with an arm around the Nara Clan Head.

"Tch. Troublesome."

**_Mount Myoboku_**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and took a look around. He was confused, very confused. The last thing he remembers before falling asleep was being in the forest outside of Konoha, but now he was inside what looked to be a small hut. The hut was in a dome shape and wasn't even tall enough for Naruto to even stand properly. Further observation showed that dome was an all-purpose living area. In one are of the hut were two small sleeping mats, next to that was what looked like kitchen and in the center was a table to gather around. Deciding there wasn't much to explore Naruto made his way to the opening of the hut.

When he finally was outside what he saw was shocking. Staggering mountains surrounded the landscape. Off in the distance Naruto could make out what looked like a waterfall with a brown liquid flowing down it surrounded by at least one hundred statues of toads. Finally trees and wildlife were abundant, with the having giant leaves that drooped down.

All of a sudden Naruto remembered the weirdest dream. It felt so real, like he was actually there. He was lecturing Neji on what an ass he was and then Sakura, apologized? '_No that cant be right, Sakura never apologizes to me. She is too busy trying to ride Sasuke to feel anything for me. But why does it feel so real?'_

Naruto was dragged out of his thoughts when something landed on his head. Looking up he saw a small red and orange toad, "Hiya Naruto! Welcome to Mount Myoboku, land of the toads!"

"Gamakichi? How the hell did I get here?"

"My buddy Kosuke said something about Jiraiya not wanting you in Konoha, so he had you brought here instead."

"Ero-sennin had me brought here? Why would he do that? No way the old man is going to let this happen. Plus what about my journey? I had it all planned out; the Tsuchikage was going to welcome me with open arms."

Gamakichi just stared at Naruto with confusion, "Well whatever your plans were you might want to rethink them. Come on, I'll show you around. Everyone here is talking about you and pops. Of course pops changed it around to make you look like an idiot and him a badass, but what can you do?"

As the two were walking around exploring the place a yellow frog with puffy cheeks and the size of Gamakichi jumped in front of them, "Hiya Kichi, Jiraiya showed up and pops sent me looking for you two. By the way my name is Gamatatsu. Now that we're friends, got any snacks?"

"Tatsu, Naruto just woke up. Don't bother him. Let's go Naruto, pops aint the patient type."

**_Elder Toad Chamber_**

Naruto entered a large room. Besides its size there was nothing to significant about it. In front of Naruto was a great throne, and a brown old toad the size of Gamabunta sat on it. On either side of the large toad were two smaller toads. The toad on the right was in a cloak and had a grey goatee with large eyebrows and a poof of hair on the top of his head. On the left hand side was a toad with what looked like hair rollers and wore another black cloak. In front of the trio stood Gamabunta and Jiraiya.

Naruto made his way over to Jiraiya to stand next to him to whisper to him, "Psst, Ero-sennin. Sorry about using my sexy jutsu on you."

"Don't sweat it kid, you never have to apologize for using that jutsu. It's a work of art."

Their reunion was cut short however when the toad with the toad with the goatee cleared his voice. "Welcome Naruto-boy to Moun Myoboku. My name is Fukasaku to my right is the Great Toad Sage and to my far right is my wife Shima. You have been brought here on the request Jiraiya because you seek a safe haven from Konoha. You are held in high regard by both Jiraiya and Gamabunta."

At this Gamabunta had an outburst; "I never said anything about the runt. He is rude, obnoxious, and barely qualifies as a henchman."

Jiraiya however thought this was hilarious, "No need to be ashamed Bunta. Just because the gaki is here doesn't mean you have to act tough."

"I would squish you if it weren't for your constant supply of sake."

Fukasaku quickly regained everyone's attention when he continued on. "Anyways, it has been decided that you will stay here and train with Jiraiya and us. If Jiraiya is out travelling you will accompany him. If his travels bring him to Konoha, you will remain here and continue your training. Do you accept?"

"Yes."

"Very well. You will leave tomorrow when Jiraiya sets out to begin his search for the new Hokage."

"New Hokage?! What happened to the Old Man?"

Jiraiya looked at his student with a sad expression, "Naruto, before Orochimaru met up with you he had just killed sensei. The council has appointed me to find the new Hokage and my other old teammate Senju Tsunade. I am sorry."

Naruto went wide eyed, but quickly looked down. His blonde hair covered his eyes, and shadowed the rest of his face. A range of emotions were flooding through him: tremendous loss, anger, frustration, but mostly regret. The last memory of the Sandaime Hokage was of himself yelling at the old man. Now Naruto just wanted to turn back time and thank him for all he did for Naruto. But there was a question still left unanswered. "Ero-sennin, why? Why did he disqualify me and not Sasuke? I thought the old man was above playing favorites."

"The reason he did that is simple, politics. The Kazekage kept forcing the issue of delaying Sasuke's match. It turns out the Kazekage was Orochimaru who simply wanted to plan the perfect time to initiate his invasion and observe Sasuke. You should have seen his face after you left, you could have read guilt on his face like a book. He never stopped caring about you."

Naruto simply nodded. He was either acting very mature or was in shock and didn't know how to handle himself. "I'm still not going back, although I forgive the old man there is just to much pain in Konoha, they have given me nothing and I owe them nothing. I was actually thinking of going to Iwa and…"

"Naruto promise me you wont go to Iwa until you are atleast an S class nin."

"Why wo…"

"Just do it."

"Ok ok, I promise."

Fukasaku had to interrupt again, "Anyways, you were brought here for a reason. The Great Toad Sage will preform a reading on you." After saying his piece the small toad turned the great sage. The giant toad seemed to be staring into space, somewhere between Jiraiya and Naruto. "You will become a world renown author, and teach a child of prophesy who will either save the world or bring it to ruin."

Naruto was astonished, that was one hell of a prophecy. He looked around at everyone expecting them to be in awe, but for some reason they all looked disappointed.

Shima let out a sigh, "You have already preformed a reading for Jiraiya, you need to do one for Naruto."

"Who is Jiraiya, Who is Naruto?" There was another round of sighs.

"Please preform a reading on the blonde child."

"Ah, I see. Hmmm, I see him with three other blondes with blue eyes that look remarkably like him. One is grabbing his hair, another with their hand in your mouth, and the final one is crying."

Everyone was obviously expecting more. "Well besides my shadow clones acting like morons I could have told you that. Is there anything else?"

"yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what else do you see?"

"Not yet, another time when you are ready."

Naruto was growing frustrated. This toad had to be the most senile thing he had ever met and he wasn't even told anything cool like Ero-sennin's prophecy. However, he sucked it up and bowed when he was dismissed.

As they were walking out Jiraiya noticed the blonde was in deep thought, "What's eating at you gaki?"

"Besides the fact that the old man is dead or I got one of the weirdest prophecies ever? Its just this dream I had. It felt so real; the emotions, the sights, the smells, everything."

"Did it have to do with the fox?"

"Huh? Oh no. I know those are real encounters. In fact I played shogi with him, he's a fast learner. Once you get past the whole death and destruction he isn't all that bad. Plus its fun to piss him off."

Jiraiya quirked a brow at this, this was unheard of for the Kyuubi jinchuki. Of course the previous jinchuriki never had much contact with the fox.

"No, my dream was like I dropped Sakura, Sasuke, and Neji at the arena. I gave an earful to Neji and Sakura, well Sakura apologized on her treatment of me."

"Tell me gaki, did you send a shadow clone with them?"

Naruto nodded, "Why, what does that have to do with anything?"

"I cant believe you never noticed it before since you always use it, but maybe that's exactly why you never did. Anyways, a shadow clone is not only special because it is solid, but because you recover their memories when they dissipate. This makes them perfect for infiltration missions."

Naruto took a moment to process the information, _'Sakura apologized, she really did.'_


	6. RevelationsLots of Revelations

**_Konoha (Training Ground 7)_**

Sakura was walking to her teams training grounds. It had been two days since the invasion and a day since the mass of funerals including the Hokage's. These past days had been nothing more than a blur to her. She was worried about Naruto, she hadn't heard any news about him and wasn't sure if it because he died fighting Gaara or if he won and got away. Ever since Naruto revealed his deepest secret and departure the pink haired girl was reevaluating her whole outlook on life. She always assumed that Naruto was simply an annoyance that would get in the way of her pursuit of Sasuke. Sakura now understood her better than any of her other friends; she was once a loner and bullied because of her forehead. Naruto suffered the same, no, worse on a village scale. '_I've kept my promise Naruto, I haven't told anyone you have left. And now I'll make a new promise. I'll become stronger and earn the respect of the village you deserve, and with that respect I'll change their minds and hearts so you can return.'_ From this day onward Sakura started to train harder than ever, not only for Sasuke's affection but to redeem her past mistakes towards Naruto.

When she made it to the training grounds she was surprised at what she saw. Sasuke was sitting against a tree in his "cool" pose (aka brooding pose), but that's not what surprised her. Kakashi has actually early! Not knowing what to do Sakura quickly checked her watch making sure she wasn't late. When it told her that she was on time she pressed it against it against her ear trying to listen and hear if the gears were still turning. "Mah mah Sakura. There is nothing wrong with your watch. Is it really so hard to believe I'm early for once?" Kakashi sounded offended but it was obviously fake with minor amusement.

"Rest assured there is a reason behind my actions. Right now we are waiting for the other two rookie teams. There is information that needs to be revealed."

As Kakashi got done with his explanation Asuma and Team 10 along with Kurnenai and Team 8 walked into the clearing.

Seeing their arrival Kakashi decided to explain why they were all here, "Now that everyone has arrived…"

"Where's the dobe?"

"Well Sasuke if you let me explain you would understand that there is a very good reason why Naruto isn't here. Now, where was I…? Right, as you guys know Naruto had a little outburst at the Chunin Exams after finding out about his disqualification. My fellow jonin and I have called you here to have any questions you have answered since you all knew Naruto the best."

Again, Sasuke had an unwelcomed interruption, "Ha. The dobe through a little tantrum cuz he got disqualified. I fail to see why you dragged me out here for."

"Sasuke you are to shut up and not open your mouth for the remainder of this discussion." Kakashi was pissed, unleashing KI all directed at Sasuke. None of the genin had ever seen the lethargic jonin so emotional before.

It was at this time that Shino spoke up, "Kakashi-sensei, you said we 'knew' Naruto. That implies something happened."

"Very observant. Yes something did happen." Kakashi let out a small sigh. "It seems that after leaving the stadium Naruto used the invasion as a cover to flee the village."

The gathered genin went bug eyed at the news. Even Shino was not devoid of emotion. Hinata fell to her knees crying. The only one that didn't look shocked by the news, in fact all she did was look at her feet as if in shame. Kakashi took notice of this before continuing, "Apparently after leaving the arena he returned to his apartment packed and then managed to get by Jiraiya of the Sannin in order to escape."

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets get out there and track the bastard, then I can beat his ass and bring him back so I can beat his ass again." Kiba always liked Naruto, they would pull pranks together, but if there was one thing an Inuzuka doesn't like is a traitor.

"There are several reasons why we can't just go out looking for him, first only the Hokage is allowed to declare him a missing nin, so if we were to engage him we are not allowed to harm him because technical Naruto is still a ninja of Konoha. We can try to convince him, we can try to capture him, but we would not allowed to harm him in any way until he is declared a missing nin. Secondly, and most importantly, there is no trace of him. Even your kin aren't able to pick up his trail from his last known location or in a 5 mile radius. We have been trying to find any sign of him for the past two days. Naruto simply disappeared."

This time Ino spoke up, "So he just left us in our hour of need? He left when we needed him the most? That doesn't sound like Naruto."

"That's because that isn't Naruto. After he was outside the village he still risked his life to save Sakura Sasuke and Neji from the Sand genin Gaara. "

"WHAT! No he didn't. The dobe wasn't even there."

Sakura was quick to hit Sasuke over the head, "Will you shut up? How do you think we managed to escape? After you passed out Naruto showed up and covered our retreat. To be honest Im happy to know he left; I wasn't sure if he was dead or not, but now I know he's alive."

Kakashi laid a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Rest assured Sakura, we have full knowledge from his summons that he won and is alive. We just don't know where he is."

"How was the dobe able to gain so much power? How could he beat such an opponent? The guy was slowly turning into a monster."

"Actually Sasuke, Gaara was slowly turning into a demon. According to Jiraiya Gaara fully unleashed the Ichibi, one of the bijuu. As for how Naruto did it, he summoned the Boss Toad Gamabunta to aid him in battle." While the genin didn't really understand the signifigance of this the other two jonin's had their mouths almost touching the floor. There have only been two toad summoners in Konoha's history, and to summon Gamabunta at such an early age is simply incredible.

"So what? He summoned a little frog. How did that help him?"

"Sasuke, the toads are very powerful and can grow to become four story buildings. The only Toad Summoners ever in our village is Jiraiya of the Sannin and the Yondaime."

"Then why don't I have that power? I need it to kill Itachi. What has the dobe done to deserve it?"

"We are getting off topic. Any questions regarding Naruto and his tenant?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Ya, I got one. Was Naruto's statement accurate about his treatment in the village? And did shinobi treat him the same way?"

"Sadly what Naruto explained was the summarized version. He has been in the hospital in more times by the age of 5 then I have been my whole life. Also, if his improvement over a few months and the Mizuki incident has any indication; Naruto's education was sabotaged. As for how shinobi treated him, many despised him but except for a few isolated instances did not go out of their way to harm him. However, many have been accused of turning a blind eye to the mobs that beat Naruto. Naruto only had four people that were truly kind to him: Sandaime Hokage, Iruka, Teuchi, and Ayame."

Now Sasuke was really confused. Wait…what? Why would the dobe be beaten by mobs?"

"Ah that's right. We were late to the exams and missed it. Naruto is a jinchuriki, or someone who has a bijuu sealed within him. The truth is the Yondaime couldn't kill the Kyuubi when it attacked the village, so Naruto was selected to have it sealed within him. By doing this Naruto was as much the savior of the village as the Yondaime. However, the village didn't see it that way thinking that the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi so they could finish it off. Fear and ignorance is a dangerous combination."

'_With a power like that I could easily kill Itachi. I must acquire one.'_

"Is there any way to obtain a bijuu?"

All the jonin narrowed their eyes at Sasuke, "No. They are spread throughout the elemental nations, typically used as secret weapons against other nations. Naruto however wasn't a weapon. A victim of circumstance."

This answer left Sasuke to think over this new information. A jinchuriki was the answer he has been looking for this entire time. '_How did the dobe get so lucky? _

Before Sasuke continued with his though process Kakashi continued with his explanation. "Jinchuriki have a history of being unstable, often being consumed by the immense power of their bijuu or going insane. Only a select few have been able to fully harness this power most notably the Yondaime Mizukage and a jonin of the Cloud, Kirabi. Naruto's seal however is a masterpiece, so Naruto is no threat."

"Any other questions?"

"Ya. Do you think Naruto is safe right now?" Sakura was curious about her teammates well being.

"To be honest, no. Jiraiya-sama informed me of a group comprised of S-classed criminals hunting jinchuriki. Their immediate goal is to collect the bijuu. What they intend to do with them is a mystery, but it cant be good." Kakashi let the news sink in, "As of right now all we can do is pray he stays lost, unless we find him first."

Shikimaru, always being the logical one, asked, "Is there any reason why Naruto was chosen over anyone else?" Kakashi stayed silent. He knew the reason of course, Minato Namikaze was his sensei, but can't go around telling people that.

"My best guess is that a new born is the best option to seal a tailed beast into. The undeveloped chakra coils are the most likely to adapt to the extra chakra. It just so happens that Naruto was a new born baby when the Kyuubi attacked." The questions were starting to get too nosey for Kakashi's comfort so he decided to end it early. "I think that is all for today, my team is dismissed for the day. But before you go; Naruto can best be described as a prison with him as a warden. Even with the most vile of criminals locked up neither the prison or warden become the criminals."

After that was said the other two jonin dismissed their students, but they didn't leave. Instead they turned to Kakashi. Asuma took a drag of his cigarette, "You know Kakashi, that last fact you told them was a lie. We have evidence to suggest that Kirabi was a young teenager when he became a jinchuriki."

Seeing no other way out of the implied question Kakashi decided to be straightforward, "Asuma, there are some things best not looked into; for Naruto's safety. Your father understood this."

"Very well, but another thing. Keep an eye on your student. His questions and answers made him look very power hungry."

"I agree, and he was making so much progress in that department before Orochimaru's curse mark. Well I'll catch you guys later. Have fun on your date." After teasing his friends a little Kakashi quickly shushined away, leaving a blushing Kurenai and a stunned Asuma. Once the couple was alone Kurenai turned to Asuma and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "Well, shall we go on our date then?" Asuma's response was to simply grab a hold of her and shushine away.

However, the truth is that they weren't alone. Hiding in one of the trees on the outskirts of the clearing were two men; both wore the same outfit, a black cloak with red clouds and straw hats. "Well would you look at that. It appears that the Kyuubi jinchuriki is no longer in this village. Looks like your job got a whole lot tougher now that you have to track him, eh… Itachi."

"It makes no difference. However, we should report this to Leader-sama at once."

"Whatever you say it's your jinchuriki after all, and I think you may have some competition now that your little brother is interested in the bijuu." Hoshigaki Kisame was trying to resist a smirk."

"Hn. He is arrogant and foolish. He will realize it one of these days."

With that said the two Akatsuki members disappeared into the shadows to report their findings.

**_With Naruto and Jiraiya_**

Jiraiya of the Sannin was walking down a road that led from Konoha. His primary mission was to locate and retrieve his old teammate, Tsunade Senju, in order for her to become the new Hokage. Jiraiya foresaw two problems with his mission. First, Tsunade was incredibly difficult to find because she constantly moved from town to town gambling and running from debt collectors. Second, the legendary medic Sannin vowed never to return to her home village after the deaths of her younger brother Nawaki and lover Dan; the fact that she is being called back to become Hokage would be insulting to her. Both her brother and lover dreamed of becoming Hokage, but they died shortly after they confessed their dreams to her.

There was a chance Jiraiya would be able to persuade Tsunade to return to Konoha that the council didn't know about, a blonde gaki named Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto would be a huge wake-up call for Tsunadde; he possessed the same passion and drive as Nawaki and the kindness that Dan expressed. The only problem was Naruto was a complete wildcard. Naruto no longer serves Konoha, in fact, as of right now Naruto only cares about three people inside the village, maybe four. Jiraiya had to find a way for Naruto to rekindle his love for the village, if that were to happen Naruto's brash demeanor and never give-up attitude would take care of the rest. Speaking of Naruto, he was currently waiting at Mount Myoboku with the toads waiting to be summoned and start his training.

As Jiraiya finished his thoughts on Tsunade and Naruto he approached a postal town. It was an interesting town that was a hundred feet lower than the surrounding geography and encircled by vertical cliffs. This town was a great place for information; travelers often stop here on their way to and from Konoha because it happens to be located by an intersection of roads that run through all of the Land of Fire.

As Jiraiya descended upon the town he was starting to get excited in more ways then one. He loved his job. To him 'information gathering' was a reward in itself, of course his methods were controversial but it got the job done again and again.

_"Mmmm…first I'll ask around the bars, but I have to blend in so a I will have to have a few drinks. If nothing turns up there I'll go visit the girls and see if there were any customers with loose lips. Again, I'm going to have to blend in which means a few more drinks, get comfortable with the ladies and get them nice and wet. Wet, hmmm…I wonder what happens when there is a rainstorm. Where does this town put the run-off water? Oh well not my problem."_

Jiraiya made his way into town and quickly found a hotel for him and his new apprentice. Once inside his room the Sannin quickly flashed through some handsigns and summoned a toad. When the cloud of smoke cleared Jiraiya noticed Gamakichi, but Gamakichi wasn't alone. Instead the small toad was sitting on a head of blonde hair.

"Finally Ero-sennin, Fukasaku-jiji was really starting to get on my nerves. Do you know what he did for my 'training'? He made me sit, meditate, and become one with nature; then hit me with a stick when I moved. I wasn't even moving! What the hell was that about anyways?"

The Toad Sage gave Naruto a calculating look, "Trust me gaki, what he is doing is laying down the foundations for something truly great. When you are old enough and ready this training will help you master a technique so powerful and difficult there have only a dozen or so to accomplish it."

Naruto's previous annoyed look disappeared and made way for his fox like grin, "Well why didn't the old toad mention that? I'll just go back to sitting still!"

"Not so fast. Gamakichi, your services are no longer needed. You may return home." The toad simply responded by saluting Jiraiya and poofing out of existence. "Now I want you to henge into the most ordinary and dull person. I don't want you drawing attention to yourself until we get you a new outfit and identity. From now on you will respond only to the name Kenji. You are an orphan that I found on the road and you are simply tagging along for protection and 'minor training'. Understood?"

"Hai. So when are we going to get a new outfit?"

"Right away. If we ran into somebody you know, even under a henge, they would recognize you. No one else wears bright orange."

The two walked out of the hotel with Naruto now having the most unassuming facial features. He had straight brown hair that went to his shoulders. His face was longer and more narrow and no longer had whisker marks on his cheeks. The only feature Naruto kept the same was his piercing blue eyes.

Jiraiya directed the boy into the nearest clothing store. Inside there were racks of clothes along the walls and folded on stands. After about twenty minutes of looking Naruto became bored and unfocused. Not realizing were he was walking he bumped into one of the employees organizing the racks. As they were falling to the ground the employee made a desperate grab to the rack making it collapse, including a box on top of it.

Naruto was the first to recover, "Oh shit, I am so sorry for that I wasn't…" Naruto stopped his apology when he saw what was inside the box that fell down. Inside were black black hoodies with orange bars going down the sleeves. "Hey Ero-sennin! What do you think of this? Cool huh?"

Hearing his annoying nickname the sage turned from the store manager to who he was apologizing profusely to. "Sure gaki why don't you go try it on. Oh, and put this on." Jiraiya tossed him a facemask. "I swiped it off Kakashi. He had about thirty so I don't think he will miss a couple. Make sure to keep the hood up."

Naruto made his way to the changing room grabbing a pair of dark blue shinobi pants on his way. When the blonde came out in his new outfit he looked like a serious ninja. Instead of his baggy and goofy looking jacket he had a form fitting sweatshirt with a zipper going down the middle. With the hood covering his hair and mask covering most of his face only his eyes could be seen.

Jiraiya nodded his head in approval, but on the inside a sense of nostalgia over took him, _"If the hood was down and the sweatshirt was white with green bars he would be a mini-Minato when he first became genin."_ Quickly shaking his thoughts Jiraiya turned to the manager. "We'll take five pairs of the outfit."

The manager's attitude flipped from anger to happiness once he realized he was being paid. As he was ringing the two up and tried to squeeze some more money out of them, "Would you like to customize your purchase? I can sew on some words or designs."

Jiraiya was about to wave him off when Naruto cut in, "Ya! Can I get the kanji for toad on the back? But I don't want it to take to long."

"That should be no problem. I was once apart of the Fuma clan and we are known for our work with needles. I should be done with your hoodie in about five minutes and the rest will be done in a couple of hours depending on how busy the store gets."

The blonde took off outer wear leaving him sanding there in his chain armor watching the manager walking away.

"Hey gaki, I'm sure the toads back at the mountain will appreciate the free advertising, but why toad?"

Naruto only took a moment to ponder his response, "Well I would put fox, but I am not run right now and I think that would be obvious of my affiliation with the Kyuubi. Especially since the people of Konoha know of my tenant. Not everyone knows I can summon toads and Mount Myoboku is my new home. Besides, your headband says oil so I need something to pay homage to the toads. Maybe when I am older or when I gain the power of the Kyuubi I will add it on the back."

The old sage seemed to accept this answer as the man came back with the first hoodie. "Come back later to pick up the rest."

Naruto pulled out his toad wallet that was busting at the seems and paid for his clothes. Once outside Jiraiya turned to Naruto and held out his hand, "Alright Kenji, two things. First is now that your features are hidden you can drop the henge. Second is to hand over the wallet. I am not going to let walk around with all that money. Money, along with alcohol and women, is one of the shinobi vices. I'll give you 300 ryo and keep the rest safe while I search for info on Tsunade."

The blonde reluctantly handed over his wallet. "Great! Now today you have off. Then tomorrow your training starts. I want you to relax and have fun because an opportunity like this doesn't come around often for shinobi."

**_Four Hours Later_**

Naruto was walking around trying to find Jiraiya now that he had spent his 300 allowance. He had gone around the town sampling all different types of food and playing games. The jinchuriki was beginning to become frustrated until he heard laughter coming from a nearby building. Once the laughter stopped a booming voice could be heard.

"Oh ya! Jiraiya likeee. Haha. You girls are fabulous, tell me more about yourselves."

Now that he knew where his sensei was Naruto made his way into the building. What he saw made him really mad. There was Ero-sennin with his arms wrapped around to women. The sage had a slight blush on his cheeks; from the multiple sake bottles scattered on the table or from the close proximity of the women Naruto couldn't tell. But that wasn't what really got him mad. Lying on the table was Naruto's precious wallet Gama-chan; however, it no longer had any money in it.

"What the hell Ero-sennin. You are supposed to be trying to gather info and I find you drunk and hitting on women spending MY money!"

"Calm down gaki. Relax. Here let me introduce you to these beautiful women. On my left is Ty Lee and on my left is…is…" Jiraiya scrunched his face trying to remember her name in his drunken state.

"I really don't care, but if you aren't get working on your search you might as well start my training!"

"Would you be quiet? Your killing my buzz. And be patient," Jiraiya started grumbling about ungrateful brats, "Your father never complained about my methods." The words escaped his drunk mouth before he had any idea of what he said, but when he did realize his slip up the toad sage shut up and prayed it went unnoticed. Kami obviously didn't listen to his silent prayer because a second later Naruto had jumped across the table and tackled Jiraiya forcing the couch to flip over. Naruto was now hovering over the sannin with a kunai pressed against his neck.

"What did you say? You knew my father?" The blonde practically growled out the words. His eyes that typically held warmth were now promising much pain.

The quick turn of events seemed to have sobered Jiraiya up. Lifting Naruto and himself up off the ground the man flipped a couple of coins over to the owner, "Sorry for the mess." Jiraiya then turned to Naruto, "Lets head to the hotel, we have a lot to talk about."

The whole way there Naruto walked five feet ahead of Jiraiya and was completely silent. He was fuming that this man new who is father was, and by extension, most likely his mother and had the audacity to keep this information from him.

When the duo did get to their room Naruto rounded on the toad sage and was about to start yelling, but was taken back when the man was going through hand signs and placed a seal on the wall. "Now that there is a silencing seal on the room we can talk. Before you start throwing a fit let me speak. Your parents identities were kept hidden for your protection. Under no circumstances are your allowed to divulge this information to anyone until you are strong enough to deal with the consequences. Also, your parents loved you very much and it broke their hearts when they realized that they wouldn't live past the day you were born."

Naruto took this information and seemed to calm down a bit. One of the constant questions that he wanted answered was if his parents ever wanted him, if they ever truly loved him. Getting this answer Naruto felt a huge sense of relief. "Who…Who were they?"

"To start off, your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki. She was originally apart of the the village Uzushiogakure, but she became apart of Konoha when she was in the academy. In case you are curious no, you don't look like her, but your personality screams Kushina. She was an excellent kunoichi; feared by her enemies and was an S-class nin. Your faher is where you get your looks; in fact you are like a carbon copy of him. I am actually genuinely surprised only one person has ever made the connection between you two. Your father was my student and Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Your official name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto."

Jiraiya stared at Naruto, waiting for the blonde react in some way. However, Naruto's outward appearance didn't betray his emotions and he was very stoic. Naruto finally broke the silence, "Why wasn't I told about them? And why did my dad choose me?"

The blonde didn't need to expand on his question, Jiraiya knew what he wanted to know. "To answer your first question because it's the easiest to answer. Nobody but the Sandaime, myself, and Kakashi knew who your parents were because one was a SS-class nin and the other was an S-class. They had enemies spread throughout the elemental nations. Especially Iwa, they hate your father and would start another war simply to kill you, his legacy. We couldn't risk your safety like that especially when Konoha had to recover from the Kyuubi attack. Your other question is much more difficult to answer because we would have to ask Minato himself. However, I knew him very well and I have a theory. Before you were born your parents were already very proud of you. They didn't think you were born for greatness, they knew. I believe Minato chose you to carry the burden because he believed you had the ability to control the power and hate the Kyuubi possesses and bring peace to the world. I believe this because he game me the key to your seal, and I think it was meant for you when the time came for you to take hold of the power.

"On a side note I think you should know that you are the third jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. The first was the wife of the Shodai Hokage, Mito Uzumaki. The Second was your mother." Naruto's silence was disturbing; Naruto was never quiet. His eyes however were filled with longing. Longing to know more of his parents. Jiraiya was happy to comply, "There is something else I want to say, but you must know that this is pure speculation. It is a known fact amongst seal masters that when a female jinchuriki becomes pregnant her seal weakens. And when she is giving birth there is a great risk of the bijuu escaping. When you were born there every precaution was taken to ensure this would not happen, and with your father being the best seal master in the world at the time the chances of that happening were slim to none. With this information I am lead to believe that someone sabotaged the seal and unleashed the beast. If I am correct then someone orchestrated the attack of Konoha."

Jiraiya let all this information sink in. Naruto wanted to ask so much more but the information he was given was so incredibly mind boggling he was in a minor state of shock. He finally spoke up barely above a whisper, "I am going to try and sit still and think over things. Then I am going to bed. Good night." With that Naruto got onto his bed and crossed his legs. Once he sorted through this he would find out everything he could about his parents. For now, he tried to clear his mind and gain perspective on the situation.


	7. Talking it Out

It was two o'clock in the morning and Naruto was still in his meditative pose. Most people would think that he had fallen asleep sitting up, but sleep would imply that his mind and body were at rest. That was not the case; however, Naruto was deep within his mindscape standing in front of giant bars that kept the great Kyuubi no Kitsune at bay. The jinchuriki had several questions that needed to be answered; some were personal and others were strictly business.

Before Naruto gained the attention of the bijuu he took a calming breath. He needed to handle this situation with subtlety and with tact. "RISE AND SHINE FURBALL!" Naruto was satisfied with his greeting because it wasn't offensive or annoying in any way, shape, or form.

**"You brat! You don't address the most powerful bijuu the Kyuubi like that! I'll rip you to shreds!"** The bijuu was snarling; trying his hardest to intimidate such a hard headed kid.

Naruto for his part acted hurt, "Aw Kyuubi, but I thought we were beyond threatening each other. For a moment there I thought we were really getting along. But if you wanna play it that way I will personally walk into that seal skin you alive and use your fur to make a nice coat. With all that fur I could be rich selling them." The Kyuubi simply responded by glaring at his jailor.

"In all seriousness Kyuubi I didn't come here to toss insults at each other; no matter how much fun it is. I have several questions fro you. Some of these only you can answer, so I need your cooperation because I'm trusting you."

The bijuu gave Naruto a calculating look. It was very rare for a human to trust such a powerful force of nature, and he needed to be sure the blonde was being honest. **"Tell me worm, why should I answer your questions? What makes you think I'll stoop so low as to assist you?"**

Naruto simply chuckled to himself; the Kyuubi was always difficult and reluctant to cooperate, "Well for starters you stooped low enough to play shogi with me. Secondly…I want to know what happened the night I was born. I want to know how you escaped my mothers seal and why you decided to attack Konoha."

**"Hmmm…I see you know who your mother was. Very well, I will tell you my story, but only because if I don't you wont shut-up."** Naruto gave a wide fox-grin. The giant fox really was a quick learner.

**"I don't know the events leading up to my escape. The Yondaime and Kushina had added extra seals before your birth, and I was locked down tight. There was one time during the birthing process where I was close to escaping, but I was pushed back by the Yondaime. You were born soon after and I could feel the Hokage's chakra preparing to reactivate the seal; however, for some reason he stopped. Minutes later I saw it, the Sharingan. It cast a powerful genjutsu over me and drew me out of the seal. From there my handler summoned me to the center of your village and unleashed my power. After twenty minutes or so the genjutsu was released; I don't know how but it was. Anyways, I continued with my rampage wanting revenge against the village that had confined me for almost a hundred years. The next thing I know the Yondaime used the Shinigami himself to seal me inside of you. The rest, as they say, is history."**

"Wow. That's some pretty heavy shit." Naruto was slowly starting to piece together the puzzle surrounding his life. "So it wasn't my fault you were released, but someone with Sharingan eyes."

**"You're wrong kit. This man had only one eye. His right eye to be exact. It was the only thing that you could see through his mask. Damn those eyes and all who possess them."**

"Is there anything else you know about this man? What did his mask look like? Did he have any distinguishing scars or marks on his body?" Naruto was curious, practically begging for answers. Not only was this man responsible for the genocide of hundreds of innocent men, women, and children. He was also responsible for taking away Naruto's chance of having a normal life. Both of his parents died in the attack, and this man was indirectly responsible for the Kyuubi being sealed within the blonde.

**"There were no known markings. He wore a cloak which covered his body leaving everything to the imagination, but his mask was white with purple flames surrounding his left eye that appeared to be consuming his lone eye."**

That wasn't much information to go off of. Masks are easily interchangeable. There is nothing that could lead to the man except the right Sharingan eye.

**"There is one last thing I can tell you. There has only been one other man that has been able to control me, Uchiha Madara. The man who controlled me that night was not him. However, only an Uchiha's chakra can become as dark and tainted as the man who is responsible for the attack. He might not have been Madara but I believe the masked man had come into contact with Madara in order to learn that genjutsu."**

Naruto was never good at academics, especially history; however, when it came to the Hokages he knew everything. Only the Shodaime Hokage was powerful enough to defeat the fallen Uchiha. It was widly acknowledged that no one has ever come close to the power that those two shinobi possessed. If the masked man was an accomplice of Madara then the world was in deep shit.

Naruto bowed deeply as he spoke, "Thank you for that bit of information. Now I would like to ask you some personal questions. For example, what was my mother like?"

The Kyuubi was not expecting something like that, but decided to answer non the less. **"Honestly, I didn't know her very well. The two previous jinchuriki in Konoha kept me on a very short leash, figuratively speaking. In fact, in all the time I was sealed within Kushina she only spoke to me twice. Once upon the sealing and another when she conceived you. The second time she wanted to make sure I would not interfere with your development. Of course that only made me want to do it, so I messed with you a little bit. How do you think you got those whisker marks? You were born with those."**

This made Naruto reach for his cheek. Those whiskers had always been sensitive, and he would sometimes find himself scratching his cheek in pleasure.

"I see, well thank you for your time and cooperation. We've got a couple a couple of hours before the day starts. Would you like to play shogi?"

**"No you annoying little brat! I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune! The mightiest of the bijuu. You already woke me from my slumber and now you are pressing your luck. If you don't…"**

He never got to finish his sentence because Naruto was on the floor laughing his ass off, "HAHAHA. It's ok to simply say no because you don't want to get your ass handed to you again."

**"You insolent little brat! I am the Kyuubi…" **

"And another thing, what's up with the whole _the_Kyuubi. You make it sound like it's a title. Isn't that your name?

The question made the Kyuubi pause. These questions were starting to get really personal. Only one human has ever been blessed to no his true name, and that man was the same person who gave the Kyuubi his name. From his millennia of observations humans were a terrible race. They constantly sought power to destroy their enemies. They often tried to subdue the Kyuubi in order to gain the upper hand. It was this treatment of being seen merely as a tool that formed and sustained the hatred that the fox was so famous for.

**"There has only been one man in this worlds whole existence that has known my name. That man was the same person who gave it to me, my tou-san. Tell me, why should I tell you something that I hold as my last keepsake of him? How do you think you compare to him?"**

"Well, I don't know exactly. I have never met your tou-san, nor do I know who he is. But if Kyuubi isn't your real name I would greatly appreciate it if I could find out what it is. Scratch that, seeing how you treasure your name…I would be honored to learn your name and about your father." With his piece said Naruto once again bowed. The Kyuubi new the boy in front of him was not being submissive but respectful. The blonde haired boy sees him as a being. That hasn't happened since the time he was born.

**_"Could this be the one Rikudou Sennin spoke of? No, I cant make assumptions. However, I can observe for only time will tell. I can guide, but nothing else."_**

**"I will consider telling you about my father at another time. For now I will tell you this. My name is very dear to me and I do not wish you to go spreading it around to whomever you speak to. Only other jinchurikis and people you absolutely trust may learn it. Is that understood? That pervert you walk around with is a good start; I can sense a deep bond has formed in your short time together."**

Naruto's head was like a bobble head. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be having a heart to heart with the Kyuubi.

**"Very well. My name is Kurama. Now leave me, as I said before I am tired."**

With that Naruto said his goodbyes and left quietly. He left his mindscape and entered his dreams with more information than he bargained for. As Kurama closed his eyes a thought crossed his mind before sleep took him, **_"You are an interesting one Uzumaki Naruto. From now on I will watch you closely."_**

**_Next Morning_**

****Naruto was currently in one of his best sleeps of his young life. Within the past twenty-four hours the blonde had learned _a lot_ of important information that centered around himself. Arguably the most important was the identity of his parents. Not only did he learn that both of them were kick as ninja, but more importantly Naruto now knew that he was wanted. He couldn't count the number of times that he questioned that. What orphan wouldn't. But Naruto's past doubts no longer mattered. Jiraiya of the Sannin, sensei to the Yondaime Hokage, told him so.

As of right now Naruto was dreaming of what life would have been like if his parents were still alive. How would their family dynamics work? Would he have any siblings? In his dream Naruto pictured himself standing next to his father. It wasn't that hard to imagine, he just made himself look older and lost the whisker marks. His mother was a different story. He had no idea what she looked like. It kind of disturbed Naruto to have a blank face in his family dream so he told himself he would ask Jiraiya about her later. If he got lucky he would have a photo.

However, Naruto's peaceful dream was not meant to last because his bed was flipped over and a loud booming voice could be heard practically yelling, "Rise and shine gaki, we are going to get some training done today. After a long hard day of that I'll get you started on the basics of fuinjutsu."

The blonde poked his head out from underneath the mattress and sent a glare at the old toad sage. He picked himself off the ground and began fixing the bed as he was grumbling about annoying and ungrateful perverts.

Hearing the complaints of his new apprentice Jiraiya became curious, "What do you mean ungrateful? The only thing you've done for me is let me use your money to gather information."

That set Naruto off. "I never gave you my money! You used it to go hit on chicks! As for information gathering, I got some big shit to tell you…"

It took about an hour for Naruto to explain his whole encounter with Kurama to Jiraiya. During this time Jiraiya was more serious than Naruto had ever seen him. The Sannin only interrupted occasionally to ask important questions or to gain more details. It went without saying that Naruto was impressed with how his typically goofy sensei became so focused. _"Perhaps he really is one of the great Sannin. He only becomes serious when the situation calls for him to be."_

"…after he told me his name he sent me away so that he can rest."

Jiraiya nodded to show he understood. Right now he was trying to process the information. As of right now there was an unknown Uchiha that has the power to control a bijuu, but there is also a potential ally if he was reading Naruto's relationship with the Kyuubi was correct. Throw in the other threats like Orochimaru and the Akatsuki and everything looks like a cluster-fuck.

"Alright gaki. Listen up and listen good. This means that we have to get serious about training. All I want you to focus on is getting stronger and finding Tsunade. When we find Tsunade and return to Konoha then I have things to tell you that concerns your safety and your bijuu. We will also start to investigate ALL Uchiha for the past 100 years. The only way they get off our list is if they are Madara or were seen being buried six feet under. That means we MIA is not enough; we have to assume that those Uchiha are alive until proven otherwise. Do you understand?" The blonde quickly nodded his head. "Good, now lets go do some training."

With that said both men got dressed and ready for the day. They decided to train on the outskirts of town so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves. On the way over the blonde wouldn't shut-up. Every five seconds there was a new question about his parents: what where they like, who were their friends, what was their favorite food, did their teeth have any cavities. Jiraiya didn't understand how some of these things were even important, but that's what happens when an orphan finds out who his parents were.

For Naruto the constant questions were starting to fill in the gaps of his family. Naruto now knew that his mother was a beautiful redhead (his father's favorite feature), but her beauty was matched by her tenacity and fierceness. Kushina was feared by her enemies and perverts everywhere; however, when it came to Minato she was a hypocrite. Jiraiya told the blonde how Kushina could be found peeking at the bathhouse when Minato was there, even though they were already in a relationship and had free access to him. Naruto admitted that he really didn't need to know his mother _that _well and finally stopped asking questions. However, he did ask for a photo and he was in luck. Jiraiya gave Naruto a picture of a pregnant Kushina sitting down and Minato holding her from behind. Both were smiling and seemed truly happy. Naruto quickly and carefully put it away not wanting anything to ruin the picture.

When both shinobi reached a clearing Jiraiya turned and began to address his student. "From what Konoha and your enemies know about you is that you are highly proficient in the use of kage bunshin. From now on in a fight you are only allowed to use a total of five for the whole encounter. If you continually use shadow clones like that it will blow your cover." Naruto looked depressed at that. He always enjoyed his shadow clones and very proud of his mastery of them, but he understood the importance of what Jiraiya was saying. "Therefore, in order to make up for the restriction you will just have to learn a variety of other jutsu. We'll start with one of your father's original jutsu. The Rasengan." With that Jiraiya held out his hand and formed a blue orb of spinning chakra.

**_Konoha (1 week later)_**

Sakura was walking home from the training grounds after a long day of training. Her training had stepped up ten fold. During team training under Kakashi, Sakura made sure to push herself harder than she thought possible. Three quarters through her intense training regimen Sakura passed out for two hours. When she awoke it was high noon and only Kakashi was there. They began to talk and Sakura was practically begging for more training. She needed to get stronger and gain respect; it was all for Naruto. The fact that Kakashi told her how Sasuke complimented her determination after she passed out was icing on the cake.

Kakashi agreed to assist in part of her training. He would work on her stamina and endurance and other basics, but he advised that she specialize in either genjutsu or become a medic nin. This was due to her great chakra control, so after a quick lunch Sakura went in search of Yuhi Kurenai. Kurenai then assessed her skills and agreed to teach her some gentjutsu, but she also mentioned that Sakura's fighting style would be best complimented by Tsunade's super strength and medical expertise.

Even though her training as a ninja was starting to improve, Sakura's day was far from perfect. News of Naruto's departure had started to become common knowledge, and she was disgusted by the celebrations going on. The bars were being filled by civilians who couldn't wait past two o'clock to start getting wasted.

On top of dealing with annoying villagers; Sakura and the rest of Team Seven were introduced to a replacement for their team, a boy named Sai. Although Sai was admittedly cute, he was the creepiest and unsociable person ever. All the boy did was insult the other members of the team and smile that creepy smile like he thought what he did was perfectly acceptable.

Right now Sakura was tired, dirty, and pissed. She finally made it to her destination and entered into Ichiraku Ramen. Sakura had started to go here in order to learn more about her estranged friend. The owner, Teuchi, and his daughter, Ayame, both spoke very highly of the blonde. There were things that Sakura never knew about her former teammate. For one he was one of the most caring people in the village. He would often go out of his way to help someone in need; especially if they were an outcast. Another discovery Sakura made was that Naruto pulled pranks simply to get attention. He didn't care what type of attention he got as long as he was recognized. All this time Sakura had thought Naruto pulled pranks because he was annoying or thought it was funny to humiliate people.

That was where Sakura's newly rediscovered friend Ino found her. Ino sat on the stool next to Sakura and greeted the two ramen chefs. After the pleasantries Ino turned to her friend, "Hey Forehead, you look like shit."

Normally Sakura would have done one of two things to respond to Ino. Either punch her or send back a witty comment about being a pig. However, Sakura couldn't do either of the two because she was way too exhausted. Her body was sore all over from Kakashi's workout and her mind was practically dead from being constantly subjected to genjutsus from Kurenai.

"Not today Ino. I'm not in the mood to piss you off right now. I'm too tired."

"Awww…poor baby." Sarcasm was dripping from Ino's mouth as she tried pinching Sakura's cheeks. "Well since you not in the mood for taunting why don't I update you on Sasuke-kun. Apparently he attacked a civilian and almost roasted them alive before ANBU stepped in."

Sakura's eyes got as big as saucers. "Why would Sasuke-kun do something like that?"

"My sources say that the civilian made two big mistakes. First the fool congratulated Sasuke-kun on defeating the sand demon. Then he complimented Sasuke of forcing Naruto to flee the village. Sasuke was so mad at the person that he began to attack." After Ino explained Sasuke's actions she began to reflect on them. "You know, I never knew Sasuke-kun cared so much for Naruto. I mean he seems to have defended Naruto even if it's not approved of."

Sakura on the other hand had a different thought, "I don't think that's why Sasuke-kun did it. I think he is actually jealous of Naruto." Ino looked at Sakura as if she had a second head. The words Sakura just said didn't make sense. How could her Sasuke-kun be jealous of anyone? He was the epitome of what it meant to be cool and mysterious. Sakura picked up on her friend's questioning look and decided to elaborate, "Sasuke and Naruto had a rivalry. Well in the beginning it was only Naruto trying to show up Sasuke, but Naruto made Sasuke recognize him as a rival. Now Naruto defeated Gaara, something Sasuke couldn't do. Naruto is improving so fast from dead last that I'm sure Sasuke feels the same way as me. We are simply standing still compared to Naruto. Anyways, Sasuke-kun is always fixated on getting stronger to avenge his clan; at least that's what he said at squad introductions." Sakura gave a dreamy sigh, "He is so mysterious."

Hearing this Ino started to pout. _"It's not fair. How come Sakura gets to know Sasuke-kun when I'm stuck with lazy ass and tubby? At this rate Sakura is gonna beat me to Sasuke-kun's heart." _She quickly shook her head to get rid of her thoughts, _"No. I cannot loose. I just need to get closer in my own way. I just have to show Sasuke-kun that we have similar interests and he will have to choose me."_

Ino then turned to Sakura, "Hey forehead I'm gonna go to Sasuke-kun's house and see if he will let me cook for him. I'll see you later." Much to the blonde's pleasure Sakura took the bait. "Not if I beat you there Ino-pig."

Before Ino knew what happened Sakura had started running down the street towards the Uchiha Compound. She simply started giggling to herself and began walking in the opposite direction towards Training Ground 7 where she knew where Sasuke was.


End file.
